By Chelsea Schneider, indystar.com
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton will make her first campaign stop in Indiana on Tuesday ahead of the state’s May 3 primary.
Clinton is expected to speak on manufacturing and global trade policies, which has become a common talking point for presidential candidates as they vie for Hoosier votes as Carrier and an affiliate prepare to cut 2,100 jobs in the state and move them to Mexico.
Details of the visit are forthcoming, according to the campaign.
Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, enjoys a wide lead in delegates over fellow Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders as they compete to secure the party’s nomination. But polls released Friday indicate the race is close in the Hoosier state. Clinton led Sanders 46 percent to 42 percent in a Fox News poll. Similarly, a poll by WTHR/Howey Politics had Clinton narrowly ahead of Sanders, 48 percent to 45 percent – within the margin of error.
Clinton’s visit to Indiana comes after Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, earned the endorsement of United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents the Carrier employees in Indianapolis who are losing their jobs.
So far, the Democratic race has been relatively quiet in Indiana compared to the Republican side where the state is viewed as a battleground.
Last week, thousands gathered at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to hear GOP front-runner Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul, speak at a rally.
Republican candidate Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, spoke to a crowd of about 1,000 people Saturday night at the Boone County Fairgrounds and held rallies in Terre Haute and Evansville on Sunday. He will continue his tour of the Hoosier state on Monday with stops at 10:30 a.m. at Huber’s Orchard Winery in Borden and at 6:30 p.m. at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Franklin.
The third Republican candidate – Ohio Gov. John Kasich – had been expected to visit Indiana on Tuesday. But Kasich’s campaign issued a statement late Sunday that he would shift focus away from the state in a bid to keep Trump from securing the Republican nomination outright. Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, co-chair of Kasich’s Indiana campaign, said the candidate cancelled all Indiana events.
Tuesday will mark the final round of primaries before Indiana is thrust into the national spotlight as the only state to hold a contest on May 3. A number of Northeastern states, including Pennsylvania and Connecticut, will vote Tuesday.
Sanders has yet to announce a visit to Indiana, but the campaign began airing television ads last week.
IndyStar reporters Tony Cook, Stephanie Wang and Chris Sikich contributed to this story.
